Parish of the Precious Blood Pastoral Council Meeting Minutes of: June 22, 2017 - St. Mary's Church, Presque Isle 2016-2017 Pastoral Council Officers President Father Jean-Paul Labrie Chair David Caron (St. Joseph Mars Hill) Vice-Chair Dr. Jim Savage (Holy Rosary Caribou) Secretary Barb Caron (St. Joseph Mars Hill) Mission Statement We, the members of the Parish of the Precious Blood, believe we have been called by God to use our time, talent and treasure to serve God and his children. We seek to be a community of faith, hope and love in union with the Holy Spirit. Empowered by the Eucharist, we are dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus taught by the Roman Catholic Church through prayer, worship, sacraments, education and service. We renew our dedication to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, attempting always, in all things, to love as Jesus loves. Attendees - Members Bob LeBlanc, Cathy Bowker, Sue Dugal Chris Grover Leah Girardin Holy Rosary; Holy Rosary; Sacred Heart; St. Catherine; St. Denis; St. Joseph; St. Louis; St. Mark; St. Mary; St. Mary; St. Theresa; Our Lady of the Lake; Appointees: Dr. Jim Savage, Barb Caron Parish of the Precious Blood - Rep: Fr. Jean Paul Labrie, Janet Beckwith, Lynn Pelli-Chair W&S Comm., Mark Bouchard-Chair Finance Council Other Parishioners: Topic Decision/Action Responsible Party The meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Dave Caron, at 6:00 PM. Opening Prayer Minutes Fr. Labrie & members present opened the meeting in prayer. Motion: Bob LeBlanc made the motion to accept the Minutes of May 27, 2017 as read. Seconded by Sue Dugal. Motion carried. Follow-Up Resolved Date 1
Old Business Parish Picnic Sue Dugal, Chairperson for the Annual Parish Picnic shared the following: *Please see attached report summarizing events of the Parish Picnic. Next sites on the list for Annual Parish Picnic: St. Joseph's, St. Catherine's, St. Theresa's A Farewell to Fr. Labrie 300-325 People in Attendance Person of Faith - Helen Bubar; completely surprised. Money Donation Collected: $290.00 Water is a must have. Profit of $337.64 did not touch $1000.00 Budget Money alloted. Profit money will be used for Fr. Dave's Reception Fr. Labrie shared that the location was a great area for kids with the new playground equipment. He was greatly impressed; it was a safe and enjoyable environment for our kids! Sue Dugal Priority Plan Priority Plan for our Pastoral Council The Parish Priority Plan has 3 Priorities. 1) Forming Intentional Disciples 2) Welcoming & Affirming Communities 3) Inviting People to Faith Evangelization Each of the 3 Priorities have Smart Goals. 1) Establish 10-12 Small faith Sharing Groups by Sept 1, 2017 Provide 2-3 Gift Discernment sessions at 4-5 worship sites From Ash Wednesday - Pentecost 2) Create a Welcoming Ministry Team at all 10 worship sites By Sept 1/2017 3) Witness Talk through 2018 Chairperson, encouraged that as members of the Pastoral Council, we need to reach out and see if we can find people that would be interested in serving as a contact person for our 3 Priorities of our Parish Priority Plan. He also stated that perhaps the Executive Committee of the Pastoral Council can meet and brainstorm ideas that would help us achieve this goal of finding someone. Fr. Labrie also shared that it may be in our best interest if we seek only 1 volunteer and focus on one priority at this time. Pastoral Council New Business Adoption of 2017-2018 Budget Mark Bouchard, Chairperson of the Finance Council presented the budget to the Pastoral Council. Complete Budget can be emailed to anyone; please request if needed. Finance Council Meetings are publicized & open to anyone. You can take part in the discussions but would not be able to vote. Mark Bouchard shared the following: The 2 Pg. Report shows Revenue & Expense Descriptions Our New Budget runs from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. The Present Budget ending June 30, 2018 as presented will finished in the black by $90.00; with expenses of $1,126,765.00 2 Mark Bouchard
Members of the Pastoral Council expressed interest, asked questions and were pleased that the Chairperson of the Finance Council, Mark Bouchard was able to present a 2 Pg. Report on the 2017-2018 Budget. *Please see attached 2 Pg. Budget Report. 2nd Year in the black; a challenging role. Our 2nd Collection is significant and really makes a difference. It keeps us afloat. Important to have enough monies to run our Commissions. Chairperson, entertained a motion to have the Budget of 2017-2018 approved as presented. Motion So Moved by Chris Grover and Seconded by Bob Leblanc. Motion passed. Book Program Resisting Happiness - Cathy Bowker As a member representing St. Denis' Parish Council, Pastoral Council Member, Cathy Bowker shared the following: The book, Resisting Happiness is an easy read book with daily reflections and would be a great tool for those who gather in small sharing groups during the 2018 Lenten Season. It came to the attention of some of the members that gather at St. Denis Church who have read the book that it should be offered to all our church sites. A handout at Christmas would be a great presentation to our families and individuals attending our Christmas Liturgical Celebrations. Fits in with our Priority Plan - Evangelization & Faith Sharing. Fundraiser would be necessary and we need to know how much money would be involved. Cathy Bowker Chairperson, entertained a motion to allow Cathy to find contact persons to attempt to look for sponsors for this book project and to come back to the council with info. Motion So Moved by Sue Dugal and Seconded by Leah Girardin. Motion passed. Installation of Fr. Dave as our Pastor Church & Family Life Chairperson, Sue Dugal reported the following: The Church & Family Life Commission has made plans for the Installation of Fr. Dave Raymond as our Pastor to the Parish of the Precious Blood. 3 Sue Dugal
Plans are as follows: Installation will consist of a mass and will take place at Holy Rosary Church with a reception to follow in the Parish Center. Tuesday, July 25, 2017 with Fr. Labrie doing the Installation. July 25 is also the Feast Day of St. James, who is an inspiration to Fr. Dave. Our center table with consist of a 'Rosary of Cupcakes' with food preparation and donations from our 10 church sites that make up our Parish. Parish Retreat Chairperson of Worship & Spirituality Comm., Lynn Pelli *Please see Attachment with info on Susan Conroy as a speaker for a Parish Retreat. The Worship & Spirituality Commission would like to see a Parish Retreat happening in our Parish in the near future. Preferably for Advent or Lent. The W & S Commission has chosen Susan Conroy as a possible presenter for a Parish Retreat. She is from southern Maine, she receives a stipend for her retreats and would need monies for travel and lodging and is the least expensive. Susan Conroy is a motivational speaker and is more flexible than other presenters and will conform to our needs. We would need 6-9 months of lead time for this 1 day event. Members of the Pastoral Council expressed that they have heard her talks/presentations and that she is very inspiring and that they enjoyed her presentations. Chairperson, Dave stated that the Fall of 2018 (Sept/Oct) would probably work best so that the cost can be approved and included in our next budget. Chairperson of W & S, Lynn, will come back with more details. Lynn Pelli Transportation Chairperson, Dave stated that he has been approached and asked to present to the Council that there is a need for transportation - to provide a ride to the elderly to attend weekly mass. Chairperson, Dave cautioned the Council to think this through and to think of consequences that could occur. He also pointed out the following: To transport a relative in your vehicle is different than transporting a parishioner that is not a relative. 4
Your vehicle insurance may not cover expenses incurred from an accident or claim that is brought about by someone who is seeking medical attention during the time of transportation. If you are providing a ride it is important to notify your insurance company and alert them that you are providing transportation so it can be added to your policy. Fr. Labrie shared that this needs to be cleared with the Diocese. We should not be providing rides without having permission from the Diocese or from those responsible to that person's medical needs. Our first priority is delivering communion to the homebound. This option needs to be looked at more closely and at this time it was the consensus of the Pastoral Council that it is too much a risk and that bus transportation should not occur. Chairperson, entertained a motion to reinforce and build on the ministry of delivering communion to the homebound and to look into life streaming mass to those who are unable to come to church. Motion So Moved by Sue Dugal and Seconded by Bob Leblanc. Motion passed. Commission Reports Worship & Spirituality Chairperson of Worship & Spirituality Comm., Lynn Pelli *Please see Attachment of March 8, 2017 Minutes of the W & S Comm. W&S Chair, Lynn Pelli Faith Formation Catechetical Leader, Stella Carlstrom *Please see Attachment on Faith Formation Stella's Report states that the Faith Formation classes are over for the summer, classes will resume September 11, 2017. Stella Carlstrom, Catechetical Leader Youth Ministry Director of Youth Ministry, Corey Morin, mentioned the following in his report: Corey Morin's Report states that 9 teens and 3 adults will attend the Steubenville Conference in NYC on July 21-23. 5 Corey Morin, Director of
*Please see Attachment on Youth Ministry He requests that we keep the group and those attending in our prayers. Youth Ministry Church & Family Life Comm. Sue Dugal, Chairperson Communication Facilitator: Jim Savage Strengthening the Family Facilitator: Rena Lagasse Sharing the Faith Facilitator: Cathy Bowker Internal Hospitality Facilitator: Michelle Hersey External Hospitality Facilitator: Nancy Saucier Church & Family Life is organizing Fr. Dave's Installation as our Pastor to the Parish of the Precious Blood. Sue Dugal, Chair Church & Family Life Comm. H.O.P.E. Helping Our People Eagerly Chairperson, Dot Cyr, rendered her report as follows: *Please see Attachment on H.O.P.E. The HOPE Report states that new officers have been elected for 2017-2018: Dot Cyr, Chair; Mary Green, Vice Chair; Kim Rohn, Communications; Kathy Schieber, Secretary; & Bob Leblanc, Treasurer. Dot Cyr Pastoral Report Chairperson, Dave shared that it is vital that we reach out to all Church Councils and to reach out to those that may have slipped away from the Visioning Process. Many showed interest but slipped away; we need to draw them back and to be inviting to those who may show interest. Pastoral Life Coordinator, Janet Beckwith stated that whatever we are doing as Ministry should zero in on our 3 Priorities. We need to incorporate goals when planning activities for our whole parish; to use the 3 Priorities as a guide. Fr. Labrie also shared that as a council we should consider having a gathering sometime this fall. A gathering of all Commissions and Councils to make plans on how to accomplish some of the goals set forth from our 3 Priorities. Total representation works best giving us an opportunity to get to know each other better. Father Labrie shared the following: 1) Ministry Reports: it's goal is for our local church communities to get to know our commissions at work and to familiarize ourselves with our local church councils. 2) It is necessary for us to move away from trying to figure out 'where are the people' and to concentrate on our ministries. 3) It has taken 1 year of reporting for our local councils to know our ministries. From this info we are able to evaluate our ministries in light of our 3 priorities for the Parish of the Precious Blood. 4) We need 1 Point Person for each Priority; that person would be the contact person for each of the 10 church sites and also the contact person for each church commission. 5) These reports will be evaluated by the Bishop at some point. Fr. Labrie 6
He also shared that as a Council, we should approach Fr. Dave with an idea of where we want to go from here and to involve him in the process. It has been Fr. Labrie's experience that the Pastor needs to be involved in order for it to be a success and to draw people to become involved. The Diocesan Parish Priority Plan remains. Cluster 1 & 2 will be starting this process in the near future. Chairperson, entertained a motion to have the Executive Committee study how to involve participation from our commissions, church councils and our parishioners to help achieve our 3 Priorities. Moton So Moved by Sue Dugal and Seconded by Cathy Bowker. Motion passed. Other Business Ministry Reports *Please see handout on April & May Ministry Reports. Fr. Labrie shared that it would be beneficial for us to continue sending in our Ministry Reports. Chris Grover also shared that we now understand what should and can be reported. Janet Beckwith stated the following: Report info is more consistent Comparison of Ministries for your Parish reveals growth and areas that need more attention. Some info is being combined that pertain to the same ministry being reported. Reports also show Ecumenical Ministry, which is a great outreach to our communities. Janet Beckwith New Chairperson Next Meeting Chairperson, stated that he will finish his term as chairperson and looks forward to Jim Savage to be voted in as the new chairperson at our next Pastoral Council Meeting in September/2017. Calendar Adjournment 8:05 p.m. - A time in prayer concluded our meeting. Date: Thursday, September 28, 2017 @ Holy Rosary in Caribou at 6:00 p.m. 7